Creator: The Center for Civic Education | visit site
Grade Range: 6 - 11
60 Second Civics offers podcasts covering one important concept at a time in 60-second narratives. They are updated daily. Short Attention Span? This site is perfect for you! There are nearly 2000 podcasts to explore. You can subscribe to the podcast series through an RSS feed, on iTunes, or access them directly through the website. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be searchable by theme or content, so you’ll just need to scroll through them if you’re looking for a specific topic or issue. Tip: when you hover your cursor over the word PLAY, it doesn’t change to a pointing hand. Click on the word anyway to start the podcast. 60-Second Civics is part of a larger site that contains lesson plans, teacher resources, video clips, and a photo gallery on all aspects of citizenship.
In the Classroom
Need a quick lesson starter or attention grabber at the beginning or end of each class? Try a 60-second Civics lesson. If you access the day’s podcast via the website, you’ll also find a one-question multiple choice quiz that relates to the podcast so you can check for content acquisition. These podcasts are perfect for a civics or government class! Share the podcasts on your projector (or interactive whiteboard) so the entire class can hear the podcast and see the quiz at the end. If you are the adviser for the school news program, these would be a terrific addition, ready to go for you every day. During the run-up to Consitution Day in September, include these in the morning PA announcements. Load the podcast on iTouches or other mobile devices in the media center for students to browse and learn. Encourage students to create their own "stump the teacher" or "stump the student citizen" quizzes based on these podcasts. Use one of the many <a href="/content/edge.cfm?c=24">poll/quiz tools</a> in the TeachersFirst Edge.
At Home
Is your student learning about the Constitution and U.S. government? This is a great site to share with your son or daughter to deepen his or her understanding. Play one minute podcasts in the car on the way to soccer practice or share the site with your teen to play "stump the parent." He/she can listen to the podcast and test YOU to see how knowledgeable a citizen YOU are!
Tags
constitution, branches of government, bill of rights,
Subjects
Current Events, Government/Civics: U.S, Social Studies, Social Studies,